1 I am Hosea, the son of Beeri. Yahweh gave me these messages at various times during the years that Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were the kings of Judah, and Jeroboam the son of Jehoash was the king of Israel.

Hosea's wife and children

2 When Yahweh first began to give messages to me to tell to the people of Israel, he said to me, “Go and marry a prostitute, in order that some of her children will be born as a result of her having sex with men to whom she is not married. That will illustrate how the people of Israel have turned away from me and worship ◄idols/other gods►.” 3 So I married Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim. She became pregnant and gave birth to my son.

4 Yahweh said to me, “Give him the name Jezreel, because I will soon punish the descendants [MTY] of King Jehu because he killed many of my people at Jezreel town. Some day I will end the kingdom of Israel, 5 by destroying the power [MTY] of the army of Israel in Jezreel Valley.”

6 Later Gomer became pregnant again, and she gave birth to a daughter. Yahweh said to me “Give her the name Lo-ruhamah, which means 'not loved', because I will no longer show that I love the people [MET] of Israel, and I will not forgive them for the sins that they have committed. 7 But I will show that I love the people [MTY] of Judah by saving them from their enemies. However, it will not be by weapons and armies or horses and chariots that I will save them. Instead, it will be by the power that I, Yahweh their God, have.”

8 After Gomer had ◄weaned/stopped breast-feeding► Lo-ruhamah, she became pregnant again, and she gave birth to another son. 9 Yahweh said “Give him the name Lo-ammi, which means 'not my people', because the people of Israel are no longer my people, and I am not their God.

10 But some day the people of Israel will be as numerous as [SIM] the grains of sand on the seashore; no one will be able to count them. Now I am saying to them, ‘You are not my people,’ but then people will say to them, ‘You are the children of God who is all-powerful.’ 11 At that time, the people of Judah and the people of Israel will unite. They will appoint one leader for all of them, and they will return from the countries to which they have been ◄exiled/forced to go►. That will be a great time; Jezreel means 'God plants', and it will be as though God will plant them in this country again.”